It was April of 1943 when Dr. Leo Kanner, arguably the leading childhood psychiatrist of the day, wrote the words in the journal The Nervous Child that changed the rest of us, and the month of April, forever.

“Since 1938, there have come to my attention a number of children whose condition differs so markedly and uniquely from anything reported so far, that each case merits – and I hope, eventually receives – a detailed examination of its fascinating peculiarities.”

At that time, Dr. Kanner was an immigrant who had lived on two continents in multiple countries; was fluent in two languages; and had just written the authoritative and exhaustive guide on all things related to childhood psychiatry in 1935. Because of his research, he was the premier expert in the country that the first 11 families of children later diagnosed with autism ever came to for help and why.

The fact that he had just written and published a book on the subject only 8 years prior to making this extraordinary statement; that he was almost 50 years old and had lived on two continents when he did; and that he was announcing to the world in fancy academic language,

“Hey everyone, there’s something NEW here…and PECULIAR… and FASCINATING…. and I’VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE…. and I’m an authority on this stuff… and I’m going to give it its own name because of it…”

MATTERS.

Because, as our beloved Dan Olmsted and so many others have said for over a decade now, if he was right and autism was new, it cannot be genetic. Something in the 1930’s in two very specific parts of the world actually, the United States and Austria, changed. And that’s really only a handful of things.

And likewise, if he was wrong, he simply gave a name to a human condition that’s always been with us. In other words, he was expert enough to get to name it something new that we still call it, but too ignorant to realize it wasn’t. (Think about how ridiculous that logic is. Never mind. Don’t. It hurts.)

A condition that nobody, including himself, bothered to name, discuss, or identify prior.

That isn’t expressly written about anywhere in medical or folk literature beforehand.

That no one over the age of 40 today ever heard of until the late 1980’s.

Because it was new, but not new, don’t you know?

We just didn’t call it that for 70 years even though it had a name.

Because doctors were incompetent.

Like every school and every teacher.

And every parent.

So we didn’t diagnose it.

And then we misdiagnosed it.

And now we over-diagnose it.

And hordes of misdiagnosed folks were institutionalized.

While they also worked for NASA.

And got married.

And then they died.

(Oh, God, it did make my head hurt. Damn it.)

There’s a word for this kind of rationalizing. It’s called “DENIAL”. And each and every one of us has experienced it at least once in our lives. I can think of at least 3 times in my own life, the regression of my daughter being the first instance that comes to mind.

Denial has a certain sound and a certain language all of its own. It makes things complicated that aren’t complicated. It insists there is an exception to the rule. It speaks in circles and contradictions. It cloaks itself in mystery and layered explanations.

It’s marked by lots of sighing and pauses. Your voice gets a little higher. There’s a cocking of your head as you look up at nothing while you speak, your subconscious begging to get your attention to stop you from saying something stupid, literally slowing down your words and making it harder for them to come out.

Because as they come out, you know they don’t make sense. You hear how stupid they sound. You feel your gut screaming at you that the truth is something else.

And yet you continue, for if it’s true what you’re saying when you’re in denial… oh God if these words are true coming out of your mouth? Well, then life is Ok! Everything if fine!

Because denial is a powerful coping mechanism. It protects us from processing painful emotional truths, particularly those that turn our entire world upside down.

“Well, the doctor said not all kids crawl…. And well, her brother is talking for her… and you see, lots of kids have chronic constipation… and yeah, she must be so sick all of the time because I’m a teacher around kids… I mean, the rest of aren’t sick, but yeah, yeah… that’s all it is.”

Oh, for that to be true. Oh, how good it felt for that to be a possibility for those years.

Ugh. It makes my skin crawl to think about. Because once you’re out of denial, it’s so freaking obvious what was right in front of your face all along. And the longer you were in denial, the more you then have to deal with the extraordinary amount of time you lost staying there.

It’s a double whammy, adding to the tremendous pain of the truth you now must face, not to mention the third whammy of having to shake the shit out of everyone else still in it, many of whom become enraged at you as you try.

Is it really any wonder people like to stay there? Denial is nice. It’s comfortable. And it even has a color now: blue.

Autism will one day be a case study of collective denial, mark my words. The seriously mind-numbingly stupid excuses. The contradictions. The “well, you see…” phrases. The pauses. The sighs. The higher pitched voice. The looking up at nothing while talking slowly.

This is body language we cannot control. This can’t be schooled away. The way we talk, the way we look, and the way we sound when we’re in denial is universal and unavoidable.

Simply watch the interviews of those who deny the epidemic and environmental causes and see for yourself. Ask someone in denial for their rationalizations of the epidemic and watch their faces and listen to their voice. For even more evidence, just read the insanity of the words of those who insist that nothing is wrong, nothing has happened, and that everything is fine.

That moms and dads caused autism in the 40’s because they didn’t bond with their children, and then, no, it was just moms in the 50’s, and then, nope, just moms that wanted to kill their kids in the 60’s, and then, well, no, sorry, not homicidal moms but genetically flawed moms by the 90’s… and now it’s sick moms who need more vaccines to keep from getting sick… and don’t forget those nerdy dads… and old dads… oh, and old moms… and oh, old depressed nerdy moms and dads in tribes… oh, and Elmo! Him too! Which is why we needed to add a new puppet apparently.

They’ll puzzle at how any of us could ever believe…

That it was normal for 1 in 20 boys to have autism.

That there was such a thing as “safe” mercury and “unsafe” mercury.

That autism was caused by immune system activation in the brain of a child from viral and bacterial infections in their mothers, but not possibly from vaccines… that are designed to cause immune system activation from viral and bacterial infections while coupled with toxins and foreign DNA.

That parents were imagining what happened to their children.

That cave drawings showed autism had always been with us.

That humanity wouldn’t have survived without a little autism.

Denial is everywhere.

It’s in the Department of Education data, where it acknowledges zero autism in the schools in the 1970’s and 1980’s… but adds an asterisk that’s only because they didn’t call it that without explaining what in the hell they did.

It’s in the behavior of people who recoil at the idea of drinking lead in their water, but roll up their sleeves to be injected with mercury…while pregnant.

It’s in the conversations of people who on one hand acknowledge they never knew a single person with autism growing up, but on the other, insist they must have.

It’s in the waiting list for housing of the 22,000 plus young people with an autism diagnosis just hitting age 21 in Florida that will never live independently, but no one needing housing in that capacity age 35. (I mean, sure, they die at 36 we’ve recently been told, but where are they now in their last year?)

It’s in the doctor’s file that shows little Johnny has eczema, and diarrhea, and constipation, and seizures, and hypotonia, and systemic inflammation, and immune system dysfunction, but because little Johnny has autism, are never treated as relevant.

Because they are the autism.

Because autism is actually more appropriately called M.I.A.: Medically Induced Autism. And because we keep asking the very people who are least likely to be able to see that they caused it to tell us if they did.

Beware anyone who tries to talk you out of your own reality. Beware anyone who makes things complicated that are not complicated. Beware anyone who talks in circles.

Beware anyone that tells you this time there is an exception to the rule. Beware anyone that tells you you’re not smart enough to understand why. Beware anyone who pauses, hems, and haws, and stares up towards the sky as they say something God awfully stupid and try to make it seem smart.

This is not the advice I give folks about autism. This is the advice I give to my children about anyone in their lives. People who engage in that kind of behavior are dangerous, I warn them, even if not intentionally so.

You won’t see me lighting up anything blue this month, celebrating brain inflammation and calling it diversity, or being happy that Elmo, the once supposed cause of autism, now has a friend of his own creation.

What’s actually M.I.A. this April is common sense…. and honesty…. and integrity… and bravery… and a firm grasp on reality. Autism is new, it’s epidemic, and it’s environmentally caused in genetically vulnerable people.

And as long as these truths remain missing, I’m happy to remain M.I.A. in April as well.

Comments

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Hello ma dear Jonathan ,do you know who said "There is no point in speaking truth to power, power knows what the truth is."
Why did they give up so easily, when speaking, is only one method of communication.
Laughter is the best tool in the communication toolkit for prompting people to "Do the right thing?".so whats going to be next on the mandated schedule ,compulsory cancer screening colonoscopies for everone perhaps?
Who within the scientific fundamentalistists advocating vacci-a-nation would people wish to see at the front of the queue for that delicate procedure ?
"Rember ,abuse of power is terrified of genuine warm-hearted laughter "
Health care professionals being forced to "Follow their guidelines OR ELSE ! will soon find their silly wee selfies in the same queue ? "Don't dare start laughing at their mandated policies "

Goodness John, I'm not sure . I started Nursing in 1976 General training then Learning Disabilities training mid 1980's .
The first person I met with severe Cerebral Palsy "great guy" was in 1982 while working in Dachau General Hospital . I learned so much working there . It was a great hospital to work in, with great staff.
How have we allowed the same abuse of power with a different haircut , different style of shirt and shoes but with the same old pattern and colour on the wallpaper to be happening "ALL OVER AGAIN"
I am very concerned about recent attempts to bring in legislation for voluntary assisted suicide etc .

But Morag I think Machiavelli would have regarded these people with fear. There is a difference between statecraft with some narrowly defined end in view and mass population experiments with ill defined chaos and unsustainable burdens at the end.

Wow ! What a powerful article " Dare to be defiant against their organised abuse of power "

The Institutionalized mentality of the American diagnostic and stastistical manual [DSM] make happy bedfellows with Health Insurance /Farm-a-ceutical companies using modern -day East India Company business model /Frankfurt school preferred Machiavellian subversion techniques '
A cabal of MACH-IV Personality types /organisational leadership with the overarching ideology that truly believes that "The end justifies the means ".
The oppressive MACH-IV fundamentalists in commercialised health care so called health improvers ?
Would happily sell their own children or their grannies for three cents or thruppence to cover the reputation of their own hin ends !
The oppressive MACH -IV'S greatest fear is people with conscience who know for sure that all childrens eyes are beautiful no matter what colour ,shape or disabilities they have .
No To mandated medical procedures of any sort now and in the future.

Julie, Thankyou for an excellent article. One more point to describe denial- The parents join a group of like minded parents. They all discuss a lot and come to similar conclusions. They compete to be the best autism parents doing all the therapies. They help each other out by saying frequently, things like ,"Jimmy is doing so much BETTER" and if they confront your own inconsistencies, they might not get to be part of that group any longer.

I only knew of ONE kid in my third-grade class who was on medication for anger issues--and one day he had a complete meltdown in the classroom and the teacher herded us to another room for safety. This was in 1981-82. Back then you didn't hear of autism (except it was something really weird and thankfully extremely rare) and it was almost unheard of to be on medication for anger issues.

Welcome to the drugged-up 21st century. I have never had my child on any medication (he's 15) and I find that Behavior Balance (B6, folate, B12, and DMG) seems to help him, especially with expressive language. I've never had him on a GFCF diet either. I think I yanked him partway out of the autism rabbit hole when he was a preschooler and little by little I'm pulling him out more and more.

There is a pubmed article that links heavy metals to Eczema.
I also wonder about mom burden. I grew up in steel town. Had zillions of Merc fillings. Maybe lead in water. Merc would be especially dangerous for my newborn.
I say if child gets excema or mom does no vax .

Bring it Julie! Your columns always pack a punch. The biggest deniers in my life are family members, who just will not help us.

First, because they were in denial that my son could be successfully treated (my mom was gunning for institutionalization), and now that he is largely recovered but with still significant issues, denial that he needs any help at all. I have an enormously wealthy sister who has watched us slide into bankruptcy, all the while assuring me that my son will just (magically) turn out like her best friend's husband, an Aspergian college physics professor. You know, she's an expert since she knows one other person on the spectrum.

All this denial is wonderfully convenient as it lets everyone off the hook. Which of course is the point.

No, I'm not saying that vitamins and proper nutrition will solve it. I'm saying they've been giving us the wrong form of two vitamins and caused an unnecessary dysfunction of methionine synthase activity, which affects many aspects of physical development, including possibly immune responses. Please let the link through to my blog so people can read through the blog series I posted last week. This is a very complex issue. But it ends on a note of hope, and I think it's a worthwhile contribution to the conversation on autism.

Re folate and B12 levels, couldn't high blood levels indicate problems synthesizing (maybe in the gut--a microbiome issue maybe) to forms useful to cellular function, or that on the cellular level they are not able to make necessary conversions for healthy function? Removing those vitamin forms might not then help at the cellular level, though it might prevent some toxicities, and replacing them with better forms (oral intake) might not help much either on the cellular level? For some of our injured, from what I understand, oral MB12 doesn't seem to do much, right? But injected or transdermal methylcobalamin sometimes has immediate perceptible effects, often positive?

Wondering if Autism continues to be listed as a Psychiatric Condition just because Dr Leo Kanner wrote that it is (Just after new vaccines were introduced)? Is his literature the reason. We know that Autism is strictly a medical condition. You can't have Psychiatric Diarrhea, Seizures, vomiting, constipation, lack the ability to speak, wear diapers (let's say at age 17), hypotonia, GERD, and other physical medical conditions because you are in a bad mood?There is no repeating Brain Seizures for attention is there?
We need to get it out of the DSM and correctly list it as a Medical Condition if we are going to Recover this generation of children...

CT
I just read the b12/folate study and while its interesting, its not stronger evidence. First, the rate of ASD in the study population is 1 in 13. 107 cases of autism in 1391 cases studied. This high rate is unusual and suggests the researchers may not have a representative sample.

The p-levels are strong for correlation and need be reproduced in an independent lab to draw conclusions. In other words, if the lab messed up on the b12 levels, the whole thing is no good.
It's good start though.

The researchers walk a fine line. Adequate b12/folate is necessary to ward off neural tube defects and/or autism, yet above a certain point, it becomes detrimental. Blood levels are taken right at birth and may or may not be representative of full course pregnancy. The researchers do not have enough patient history to determine whether the levels are fluctuating due to supplementation, diet, genetics, or some other factor.

With respect to autism, it doesn't really explain the regressions observed by thousands and thousands of parents following administration of the DPT or MMR vaccines. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, its usually a duck. Cause and effect. Autism 18 months = MMR vaccine. SIDS = DPT
have a good evening,

The tendency to store vaccine mercury rather than excrete it as most eventually do is genetic. Otherwise most or all people would react the same way to vaccines. A genetic inability to produce sufficient glutathione to detoxify is one possible explanation. But those who do not get the vaccines do not react by storing the mercury and having it set off any of many terrible syndromes: autism, bowel disease, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, and/or sleep disorders. It's important that people recognize that everyone has a different genetic makeup. Most people don't react to the Hib vaccine with peanut allergy or diabetes, but a lot do. But no vaccine, no reaction, no problem.

I was born in 1940. 18 months later I came 'down' with chronic eczema I still deal with today. Because of my immune system dysfunction, I strongly believe my daughter's autism is secondary to my immune dysfunction when she got her vaccines...at 0ne-month old.

The evidence is stronger that overuse of of cyanocobalamin and folic acid together are behind the dramatic rise in autism than it is for vaccines. That doesn't mean vaccines haven't caused a few cases, but the society-wide increase we've seen in children of conscientious, sometimes non-vaccinating parents points to something environmental other than vaccines. A John Hopkins study last year found pregnant women with too much B12 and folate (almost certainly a result of prenatal vitamins and fortified foods containing folic acid and cyanocobalamin, which are otherwise not present at significant levels in humans) had children who were 17 times as likely to be diagnosed with autism later. 17 times. Let that sink in. And then look at your breakfast cereal box and your children's multivitamins and which baby foods and cereals WIC will pay for. If the rise in autism is from inferior vitamins, this is just as bad a public health policy disaster as if it were vaccines that had caused it.

The data simply doesn't fit the genetic rationale, nor the Monsanto corn rationale. Anyone whose seen the regression between 0-2 years old knows this. Count me MIA as well. thanks and have a wonderful day.

Great article Julia.Denial somebody said its the brains way of coping with shock-coinage in that.Happy place to be for a time then gradually you realize that this very bad news that we both have found out about 2 years ago could be ,maybe,possibly be,just slightly true, but not as bad for us as reported by others- OH SHIT!

Gates et-al must rub their murky sweaty hands and think they are on the way of controlling by destructing the DNA of the population -sadly they are.We are here and writing and giving our reports life has dealt us.If the Gates of the world continue a tipping point will come when nobody will have a brain to question what has happened what was `normal` at one time the ones growing up just now at least every family knows a kid with autism the new norm -that worries me.

"Because autism is actually more appropriately called M.I.A.: Medically Induced Autism. And because we keep asking the very people who are least likely to be able to see that they caused it to tell us if they did."

I whole-heartedly agree that "denial" has been the main .. consistent theme .. of medical bureaucracies .. CDC, HHS, AAP, AMA, etc .. to avoid being held accountable/responsible for unleashing the global disaster that autism has become.

I would also suggest that "cognitive dissonance" .. as defined by Wiki-leaks below .. applies as well:

"In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental stress (discomfort) experienced by a person who simultaneously holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values; when performing an action that contradicts existing beliefs, ideas, or values; or when confronted with new information that contradicts existing beliefs, ideas, and values.[1][2]. In other words, the term refers to the perception of incompatibility of two simultaneous cognitions, which can impact on their attitudes.

Leon Festinger's 1957 theory of cognitive dissonance focuses on how human beings strive for internal consistency. A person who experiences inconsistency tends to become psychologically uncomfortable, and so is motivated to try to reduce the cognitive dissonance occurring, trying to "justify" their behavior by changing or adding new parts of the conflicting cognition, as well as actively avoids situations and information likely to increase the psychological discomfort."

I think it safe to assume there are literally millions of .. "cognitive dissonance" .. medical professionals who are "psychologically uncomfortable" .. from a lifetime of desperately trying to "justify" their DENIAL .. of what THEY KNOW has caused this global disaster upon mankind.